SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549

FORM 6-K

Report of Foreign Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

October 20, 2000

REUTERS GROUP PLC
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

85 FLEET STREET, LONDON EC4P 4AJ, ENGLAND
(Address of principal executive offices)

[Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.]

Form 20-F _X_                       Form 40-F __

[Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.]

Yes ___                                         No _X_

THIS REPORT IS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THE PROSPECTUSES CONTAINED IN POST– EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO. 33-16927 ON FORM S-8,
POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO. 33-90398 ON FORM
S-8, POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO. 333-7374 ON
FORM F-3 AND REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO. 333-5998 ON FORM S-8 FILED BY THE
REGISTRANT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

REUTERS THIRD QUARTER TRADING STATEMENT

London – Reuters revenue for the third quarter of 2000 rose by 16% to £888 million (US$1.296 billion) from £763 million (US$1.114 billion) for the same period last year. This compares to 9% year-on-year revenue growth reported for the first half of the year. Underlying revenue, which excludes the impact of acquisitions, disposals and currency movements, increased by 11%. This is in line with the rate of growth in previous quarters this year. The underlying revenue growth in the third quarter reflects good performance in the core business combined with continued strong growth at Instinet and Reuterspace.

Instinet IPO

Reuters has decided in principle to float Instinet and has begun the preparatory work for an initial public offering (IPO) in the US of a minority stake. An IPO will support Instinet’s geographic, customer and product expansion and provide an acquisition currency if required.

Peter Job, Chief Executive, said: “Our core business in Reuters Financial is thriving in good market conditions. Technology sales are picking up as we forecast and we are doing well with our 3000 Xtra product at the high end of the market. We are also reaping substantial rewards from our decision three years ago to offer lower-priced financial information feeds which our customers use in servicing their own client base through electronic links. Reuters news and pictures are selling in profusion to general websites as the internet wave spreads out beyond the US to all our global markets.

“We expect revenue to continue to grow in buoyant markets. We are not being shy about investing in new revenue opportunities in Reuterspace and other new ventures involving partners. The vision of transforming the corporation for the Internet remains right in our minds and the spending programmes to achieve this are moving ahead.”

Reuters Financial

Reuters Information – Revenue rose by 8% to £438 million (US$639 million) in the third quarter compared with the same quarter last year, with underlying revenue up 7%. Reuters flagship information product, 3000 Xtra, has now sold 14,000 accesses. Over 60,000 accesses of ReutersPlus, the US domestic equity product, have been sold. ReutersPro was launched this summer and uses the same infrastructure to extend Reuters reach into higher tier segments including the institutional buyside.

Reuters Trading Solutions – Revenue for RTS grew by 4% to £196 million (US$286 million); underlying revenue increased by 2%. Revenue from transaction products has held up well. The rate of cancellation of Dealing terminals has reduced significantly this year, whilst foreign exchange matching revenues have increased largely as a result of good performance in forwards. Application Enterprise Systems showed growth as customers started to focus on new dealing room infrastructure after Y2K. Significant sales have been made to a number of large customers. Customer interest also is being shown for Retail Solutions, which allow customers who want to use internet technology and customised content to reach their clients directly.

Instinet

Revenue for Instinet grew by 46% to £189 million (US$276 million); underlying revenue increased by 32%. This good year-on-year performance reflects the growth of volumes in equities markets, especially in the US which accounted for over 75% of Instinet’s revenue in the quarter.

Instinet continued to spend heavily on expanding its structure and capabilities and on diversification of its product line. It plans to launch its retail product this quarter.

Reuterspace

Revenues for Reuterspace grew by 64% to £66 million (US$96 million); underlying revenue grew 17%. The expansion included the acquisition of ORT, the Tower Group and the Yankee Group, as the strategy to build businesses in new market segments develops. New media continued to do well with an estimated 50 million users of Reuters news and information on websites around the world. Reuters own website, Reuters.com, has been revamped significantly as a first step towards the creation of Reuters personal finance portal. Work is also underway on local sites in the UK and Germany.

The Greenhouse Fund has taken advantage of investment opportunities in current market conditions to accelerate the pace of investments, which now number 79, with £105 million (US$153 million) invested so far this year. Six companies held in the portfolio have gone public this year, three in the third quarter. Reuters has not so far committed itself to a firm date for an IPO. Discussions are underway with various organisations about a private round of financing as the next objective.

Note: For convenience all US dollar equivalents have been converted at US$1.46 = £1, a rate prevailing on 30 September 2000.

This news release may be deemed to include forward-looking statements relating to Reuters within the meaning of Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the US Securities Act of 1934. Certain important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those disclosed in such forward-looking statements are described in Reuters Interim Statement for the six months ended 30 June 2000 under the heading “Cautionary Statements”. Copies of the Interim Statement are available on request from Reuters Group PLC, 85 Fleet Street, London EC4P 4AJ.

Note to editors

Reuters (about.reuters.com), the global information, news and technology group, plays a significant role in the functioning of the financial and media markets. Reuters strategy is to make the financial markets work on the Internet. Reuters is the world’s largest international news and television agency with 1,957 journalists, photographers and camera operators in 185 bureaux serving 153 countries, gathering and editing news in 24 languages. Reuters premier position is based on a reputation for speed, accuracy and impartiality as well as for continuous technological innovation. Reuters supplies news and information to over 900 internet websites. Instinet, an independently managed subsidiary of Reuters, is the world’s largest electronic agency brokerage firm. It covers the equities and fixed income markets. On 30 June 2000, the Group employed 17,067 staff in 215 cities in 98 countries.

Reuters and the sphere logo are the trademarks of the Reuters group of companies.